A warm winter’s meal- Tomato, Oregano, and Feta Risotto

12. February 2012 · 40 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, life, recipes, Savory, vegetarian · Tags: , , , ,

As I mentioned in my recent post, Nate needs carbs to fuel his long Sunday runs during his marathon training. Since I was kind of sick of making pasta, and you’re probably sick of seeing pasta recipes, I chose another tasty carbohydrate: rice.

I realized that I had leftover arborio rice, from when I made rissoto a while back, that was just dying to be cooked up. I wanted something different. It seems that all risotto recipes have mushrooms in them, but finally I stumbled across a Tomato, Oregano, and Feta Risotto that sounded amazing.

It called for Greek flavors and ended up being one of the most delicious meals I think I’ve ever made. The lemon zest made it really fresh tasting (luckily I didn’t have any zester accidents this time) and I loved the tomato base. It’s a completley vegetarian meal.

The only change I made to the recipe below was substituting Vermouth for the ouzo, since I didn’t have any. As with all risottos, it took over an hour to make and involved constant attention and stirring, but it was absolutely worth it!


Tomato, Oregano, and Feta Risotto
From The NY Times Diner’s Journal

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serves 4-6

Time 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 to 5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup Carnarolli or Arborio rice
1/3 cup ouzo (or vermouth)
1 1/3 cups grated ripe tomato (see Note *)
2/3 cup creamy feta, such as Dodoni or Cephalonia, or a French feta
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
Finely grated zest of a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add onion and a little salt and stir until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and stir until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Place broth in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Raise heat to medium, and add rice to skillet. Stir until well-coated with olive oil and starting to soften slightly, 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of the simmering broth. Keep stirring gently until the rice absorbs all the broth. Add ouzo and stir until absorbed.

Add grated tomato and stir gently until the mixture is dense. Add remaining broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed, until the rice is creamy but al dente, 25 to 30 minutes.

Add feta and stir until melted and risotto is creamy and thick. Stir in oregano and lemon zest, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

*Note: To grate a tomato, halve crosswise and grate the cut side with a coarse grater over a strainer set over a bowl. Grate as close to the skin as possible, but discard the skin.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese with Broccoli

08. February 2012 · 46 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes, Savory · Tags: , , ,

Have you been looking for a way to use up the leftover buffalo sauce from the wings you made for Superbowl Sunday?

What! You bought wings?? If that’s the case, I’m honestly not sure why you’re reading a cooking blog. Homemade wings are one of THE easiest things to make.

I know, I didn’t used to think so either, but I have the BEST recipe for baked wings that will rival the fried ones at your favorite wings spot. I’ll have to share it sometime soon…

But, if you do have some leftover sauce (or just think this recipe looks so tasty that you want to go out and buy some), then this is the recipe for you.

I never really eat chicken wings but I made buffalo-style chicken thighs the other day and was reminded of how much I love buffalo sauce. Like, I could eat straight spoonfuls of it. Yum.

But even with my wing-making and straight-sauce-eating, there was still a bit left at the bottom of the bottle. So when I saw this recipe the other day, I knew I had to make it.

I wanted to healthify it a bit, so I added some chopped broccoli. And I shredded the chicken because I hate giant chunks of chicken in pasta.

It has the basic delicious, creamy mac n’ cheese taste with a hint of an undiscernable kick to it. You definitely should pour drizzle some more buffalo sauce on top when it comes out of the oven if you like it as much as I do. Nate just ate it as-is which is totally fine too.

Make this tonight!


Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese with Broccoli
Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Print here!

serves 4-6

1 pound pasta
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (about 2.5 large boneless breasts)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 + 1/3 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese + more for topping
10 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)+ more for topping
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

for garnish: 3/4 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, additional buffalo wing sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions. Put drained pasta back in pot.

While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color.

Add milk. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly until it thickens. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheese and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Spray a baking dish (9 x 13 is fine) with non-stick spray.

Add chicken and broccoli into pot with pasta, then pour cheese sauce over and mix throughly until everything is coated. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately top with gorgonzola and green onions. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.

#chocolatelove: Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate

04. February 2012 · 134 comments · Categories: Dessert, food, recipes · Tags: , , ,

February is a month for love….and chocolate.

Or maybe for loving chocolate (sorry, Nate, I’ll go back to loving you in March).

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with someone or alone, it’s appropriate to treat yourself to some extra chocolately goodness.

Ever since I went with Nate and his family to The City Bakery, near Union Square, I’ve been dreaming of their rich and thick hot chocolate.

They’re really well known for their amazing hot chocolate. In fact, every day in the month of February they have a different flavor of hot chocolate as part of their Annual Hot Chocolate Festival.

But honestly, you really don’t need anything but their original flavor. It tastes like you’re drinking liquid chocolate. It’s seriously amazing.

Anyway, after drinking it I searched online for thick hot chocolate recipes. It’s not the watery consistency of hot chocolate you make from a packet. It’s so thick that you could eat it with a spoon. Consitency-wise, it’s kind of like in between instant hot chocolate and chocolate pudding.

I found this one recipe from Southern Living and finally got around to making it for Nate (and me). It was totally as awesome as City Bakery’s!…which is good to know since they charge $5 a pop.

This month’s #chocolatelove is brought to you by the following lovely hosts:

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan
Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Click here to enter your recipe and view the rest of the bloghop ones!

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Rich and Thick Hot Chocolate
Slighlt adapted from Southern Living

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serves 4

2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 cups milk, divided
2 (3-oz.) dark chocolate bars (at least 70% cacao), chopped
1/3 cup honey (or more depending on how sweet you like things)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Whisk together cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk until smooth.

Cook remaining 3 1/2 cups milk in a large, nonaluminum saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around edge of saucepan (about 4 minutes; do not boil). Whisk in chocolate, honey, vanilla extract, and salt until blended and smooth. Whisk in cornstarch mixture.

Bring milk mixture to a light boil, whisking frequently (about 4 minutes). Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.) Serve immediately.

Lazy Weekend Breakfast: Cornmeal-Bacon Waffles with Thyme-Infused Maple Syrup

01. February 2012 · 50 comments · Categories: Breakfast, Brunch, cooking, food, recipes · Tags: , , , ,

i.e. Heaven on a Plate

Nate and I have had non-stop plans since Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong, we love travelling and spending time with family and friends, but sometimes it’s nice to have a lazy weekend at home where we can sleep in (a luxurious 8 am), and make something fantastic for breakfast.

Nate’s in the midst of his marathon training since he qualified for the Boston Marathon, so I try to make meals with enough calories to carry him through his runs.

I’m not gonna lie and tell you that these waffles are perfect for your New Year’s diet, but I can tell you that they’re worth every.single.calorie.  I actually cut down on the amount of butter and bacon in the original recipe, if you can believe it.

They taste like cornbread with a bite of bacon in every forkful. The thyme-infused syrup is herby and delicious- a combo I’d never have dreamed up on my own.

So please, make this for someone you love this weekend.


Cornmeal-Bacon Waffles with Thyme-Infused Maple Syrup
Slightly adapted from Leite’s Culinaria

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makes 12-14 waffles 

For the thyme-infused syrup:

8 small sprigs fresh thyme
1  cup pure maple syrup
8 whole black peppercorns
4  tablespoons cold water

For the cornmeal-bacon waffles:

1 pound thick-cut bacon
4 large eggs
3 cups (12 fluid ounces) buttermilk, plus more as needed
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Make the thyme-infused syrup:

Pull off most of the leaves from the thyme. Place both the leaves and the stems in a small saucepan with the maple syrup, peppercorns, and water. Place over very low heat and bring to a very gently simmer. Let it bubble for 10 minutes to infuse the syrup with thyme. Strain the syrup into a pitcher. (You can make the syrup up to 3 days ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate, then gently reheat over low heat just before serving.)

Make the cornmeal-bacon waffles:

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, turning once, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and let stand until cool enough to handle. Crumble the bacon into small pieces. You should have about 1 1/4 cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and butter. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper, if using. Make a well in the center of the cornmeal mixture, then pour in the egg mixture. Whisk until the batter is mostly smooth with just a few lumps. If the batter is too thick, stir in another 1 to 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Gently fold in the bacon.

Preheat your waffle maker.

Ladle the batter into the waffle maker, using 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter per batch and spreading the batter so that it almost reaches the edges. Cook until crisp and browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a spatula, remove the waffles and serve hot or place on a baking sheet in a single layer in a 200°F (95°C) oven for up to 20 minutes while you make the rest with the remaining batter. Drizzle with the warm thyme-infused syrup.

Enjoy!

January 2012 Daring Bakers Challenge!

27. January 2012 · 52 comments · Categories: Baking, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, cooking, food, recipes, Side dishes · Tags: , , , ,

It was about time for a Daring Bakers Challenge that was more fun and less annoying/frustrating/want-to-throw-all-my-baking-supples-out-the-window.

For January we were put to the scone making test! Although in this case, “scone” meant the European scone, which is actually called a biscuit in America. And biscuits in America are scones in Europe.

Backwards, right?

Anyway, we were allowed to put whatever fixins’ we wanted into the mix and I went with dill and cheddar, since I had both in my fridge. They suggested to use chives and cheddar but i’m glad I went with dill.

I served it alongside the veggie soup from the other night and they were just perfect…flaky, fluffy, flavorful, cheesy. Make these tonight!

Blog-checking lines: Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!


Cheddar Dill Biscuits

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Makes 5-8 depending on biscuit size

Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)

Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.

Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be! Mix in cheese and dill.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)

Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.

Place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.

Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.

Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

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